Hi, I'm Baz, Can I Buy You a Drink?
by QuestionableIntentions
Summary: A smol fic about tea and love. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N-Yeah, I know it's not Saturday, but I had MLK Day off and thought I'd try something new-posting a completed multi-chapter fic! This'll hold you all over for a few weeks, right? I'll continue to update sporadically but, y'know, highschool. This is a story with one of my OC's, and one of PennTheWriter's OC's (hers is only at the end though). I hope you like it!**

* * *

Baz walked into the bar, nodding at someone in the corner and smiling at the bartender. She sat down on one of the dark wood stools and rested her face in her hand, elbow on the bar surface. She hummed a few notes while waiting for the bartender to finish making a drink for someone else.

"Hey, Baz."

"Hi, Talia."

"What can I getcha?"

"Two shots of vodka and a bottle of your crappiest beer."

"Another breakup?"

"Yup. How'd you know?"

Talia laughed. "I'm a bartender," she threw her arms out. "I know all."

Baz grinned, then tossed back both shots within seconds of each other. She whistled.

"God, that burns. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Talia nodded and she looked sad for a second before she turned away to help someone else.

* * *

Talia heard a deep voice behind her asking for a rum and coke, so she turned around to see who she was serving. It was an incredibly handsome man wearing a dark sweater and black leather gloves. His hair was long, wavy, and dark, on the edge of making him look homeless.

"Rum and coke coming up, sir."

The man smiled at her and handed her a five-dollar tip and she nearly passed out.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Talia slid over his rum and coke with an extra-wide smile.

* * *

When Talia made her way back over to the other end of the bar, where Baz was, she was grinning like a crazy woman.

"Hey, Baz. There's a guy over there."

"Oh, no. I got broken up with less than twenty-four hours ago. You know the rule."

"Fine. At least get his number? He might turn out to be just a friend."

"Yeah, because you make _friends_ in crowded bars right after you've had your heart broken."

"I know, Baz. But he's fuckin' hot and I'd hate for you to miss this opportunity. He might turn out to be your soulmate."

"Okay…" Baz sighed and drew the word out for a good ten seconds before getting off her stool and walking to the opposite end of the bar.

She wove her way around several people who were on their way to a hell of a hangover. She stole the last empty seat and motioned to Talia to come over.

"What?"

"Who am I looking for?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm dumb," Talia smacked her forehead. "Tall, dark, handsome, and five seats away from you right now. I'd hurry. His drink's almost gone."

Baz got up again and moved five seats to the right. She tapped the shoulder of the person in the seat Talia had pointed out.

"Hi, can I buy you a drink?"

The guy turned around and Baz gasped a little bit. Talia hadn't been kidding when she said 'tall, dark, and handsome.'

The guy smiled at her. "Shouldn't you at least tell me your name first?"

"Okay, hi, I'm Baz, can I buy you a drink?"

The guy laughed. "Hi, I'm Bucky, and definitely."

Bucky got off his stool and they found a pair of empty seats. They sat back down and Baz decided not to finish her crappy beer and get drunk enough to forget her name. Instead, she went home with Bucky's number on her phone and Bucky went home with Baz's number written on the back of his hand with eyeliner, having left his phone at home.


	2. Chapter 2

Bucky called Baz the next day, asking if she wanted to get coffee with him. She laughed and agreed.

"Why'd you laugh? Did I say something funny?"

"No, it's just, I'm more of a tea person than a coffee person."

"Oh, really? That's cool."

"Mind if I take you to my favorite tea place instead?"

"Not at all. What's the address?"

Baz rattled off the address of her apartment.

She could hear Bucky smiling as he said, "I'll be there in half an hour."

* * *

Bucky looked up at the tall gray apartment building and questioned, for the fifth time, whether his GPS had led him to the wrong place. He texted Baz and got a response thirty seconds later.

Bucky: _I went to the address you told me. I'm at an apartment building?_

Baz: _yeah dude. my place._

Bucky: _Ohhhhh okay._

Bucky put his phone back in his coat pocket and hit the buzzer for the room number Baz had given him. She buzzed him in and he took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping into the lobby.

* * *

Baz jumped when the kettle whistled. She took it off the burner and turned the stove off. Just then, there was a knock on her door. She walked over, nervously picking at a scab on her hand. Looking through the peephole, she saw Bucky, who seemed to be fidgeting. Maybe she wasn't the only nervous one. She turned the knob and pulled the door open, catching Bucky snapping his fingers anxiously. He stopped and looked at her, slightly embarrassed. Baz simply pretended she hadn't seen anything and stepped to the side to let Bucky in. She closed the door and turned around to see Bucky examining her kettle.

"Can I take your, um…"

Baz gestured at his coat.

"My coat?"

"Yeah, that." Baz laughed a little bit. "Forgot what the word was for a second."

Bucky smiled and took his coat off to reveal a grey sweater that looked really soft and comfortable.

At this point, Baz was genuinely struggling not to comment on how muscular one arm was compared to the other, but she decided that wasn't a joke she should make on a first date.

Instead, she asked, "Can I take your gloves too?"

"No, I think I wanna keep them on."

Baz was a little weirded out by this, but she let it go. It _was_ kinda cold in her apartment.

Bucky went back to inspecting the black teakettle.

"You never seen a kettle before?"

"No."

"It's for boiling water. I should put it back on, actually."

Baz put the kettle back on the burner and turned it all the way up.

"So you're not a tea person then."

"What do you mean?"

"You've never seen a kettle, so I highly doubt you drink tea on a regular basis."

"Yeah, you're right. Mostly I'm a coffee drinker."

The kettle whistled and Bucky jumped, looking at Baz with a confused expression on his face. Baz just grinned and turned the stove off, then poured the boiling water into two mugs with teabags in them. Bucky watched her, thoroughly interested in the whole process.

"There. I used my favorite kind of tea. I hope you don't mind…"

"I'm sure it's great."

"How much sugar do you want?"

"I usually have black coffee so I guess none."

Baz nodded and put a heaping tablespoonful of sugar in one of the mugs, handing the other to Bucky.

"Don't take the teabag out yet. It's not good if you take it out too soon."

"Okay."

Bucky took a tentative sip.

"Ow!"

Baz hid her smirk behind her mug.


	3. Chapter 3

_The sixteenth tea date_

"Hey, Baz."

"Yeah?"

"I've got something to show you."

"Bitch, I swear, if you pull out a ring I'm gonna jump out the window."

Bucky smiled and put his face in his hands.

"No, Baz. Just…trust me."

Baz watched as Bucky pulled off his right glove to reveal…a perfectly normal human hand. Baz raised an eyebrow at him.

Then Bucky pulled off his other glove. Baz gasped as she saw the mechanical hand. It seemed to be homemade, with 3-D printed parts and duct tape everywhere. Bucky flinched at her sharp intake of breath.

"Oh, my God, Bucky!"

"What?" Bucky's face stayed scrunched up, expecting her to be upset or scared or both.

"This is _amazing_! Did you make it yourself?"

"…Yeah, I did. You're not mad that I didn't tell you?"

"Why would I be? It makes sense that you'd want to keep it hidden."

"Really?"

"Hell yeah. I'd wait this long to show someone my scars and imperfections too. Speaking of which…"

Baz started to take off her shirt. Bucky's eyes widened.

"Baz!"

"What? You've seen me naked before."

Bucky blushed slightly and Baz pulled the shirt over her head, then turned around to show off her back.

"What do you think?"

Bucky stared at the crisscrossing net of scars on her back.

"Baz…what happened?"

"I was in the army," Baz said, putting her shirt back on. "Some bastard threw a grenade at me."

Bucky sat quietly for a moment. Baz began to get nervous.

"Say something! Are you gonna comment on it or what?"

"You were willing to give up your life for your country." Bucky's voice was almost a whisper.

"I guess."

Bucky smiled. "You're the bravest person I know."

"Bucky, I was broke. My parents couldn't pay for college and I didn't wanna work in a McDonald's for the rest of my life. The decision had nothing to do with bravery."

"The fact that you even saw it as an option, though…It's amazing."

Baz sighed. "Thanks." She grabbed Bucky's mechanical hand. "Now lemme have a look at this."

As Baz inspected his arm, Bucky told her the story of how he made it. Bucky told her he had been in the Marines, causing her to smack his (real) arm for not telling her when she'd showed him her scars. He had been next to an enemy IED when it blew up, though he hadn't been as lucky as Baz. He'd lost his entire left arm up to the shoulder. When he got home, he'd built the arm and padded all of his shirts and jackets in the left sleeve. He'd also made some padded leather gloves for himself, which he wore everywhere.

"So," Baz asked, "why didn't you just decide to ditch the gloves and walk around with a robot hand? You'd be like a superhero!"

"I don't like it. I don't like not being fully human. I'm part robot now and I can never change that."

Baz nodded. "Well, I want you to be comfortable. Wear your gloves around me if you need to."

"I don't think I will, considering how much cooler you think I am with a robot arm."

Baz laughed. "Oh my God, Bucky!"


	4. Chapter 4

_The fifty-first tea date_

"So, Bucky."

"Yeah, kitty?"

They had switched to pet names around the fortieth tea date, and Baz had gotten Bucky to fall off his chair laughing when she told him about how she got nicknamed Kitty as a kid. Her name had been Catherine (before she changed it) and she'd shortened it to Cat. She acted so much like an actual cat that her one of her friends started calling her Kitty, and the nickname stuck. She had then proceeded to demonstrate exactly how much like a cat she had acted, which was what sent Bucky into a fit of giggling.

"I was gonna ask you if you wanted to move in with me. This apartment's kinda lonely, and it would be great to have help paying the rent."

Bucky stirred his tea for a while. "That sounds great. I'd be honored."

"Shut up, it's not like I asked you to marry me."

"I'm just practicing for when you do."

Baz laughed. "Shut _up_!"


	5. Chapter 5

_Epilogue_

It turned out to be Bucky who proposed. He did it on their eighty-third tea date, and Baz nearly passed out before she said yes. Bucky had laughed at her excited squeals and her insistence on calling her lifelong best friend so they could scream about it together.

Baz tapped her foot impatiently as Skype loaded. She clicked on the video call button next to the contact that said _Penni_.

The video connected, and Gia waved at her from Dallas. "What's up?"

Baz and Gia always Skyped on Fridays, and today was Sunday.

"I know it's not Friday, but I needed to call you. Guess what?"

"What?"

Baz held up her left hand to show off the ring Bucky had gotten her.

Gia screamed and fell back on the bed. Her boyfriend Steve rushed into the room.

"What's wrong, babe?"

"Nothing, Stevie-beanie. Bucky proposed!"

Steve smiled, considerably calmer than his excitable girlfriend. "Congratulations to you both."

Gia sat up. "Yeah."

Baz grinned. "You owe me ten bucks."

Gia moaned. "I'd forgotten about that. Y'all have to drive out and visit us if you want it, though."

"Of course. I'm going to start packing as soon as I get off Skype."

Bucky walked in. "Why does Gia owe you ten bucks?"

"We had a bet that you would propose before Steve."

"Of course you did." Steve put his face in his hands. "You two are hopeless."

Gia and Baz agreed with him emphatically, and then said their goodbyes. Baz snapped her laptop shut and turned to Bucky.

"What are you waiting for? We have to get going if we wanna make it there by the day after tomorrow."

* * *

 **A/N-Well guys, tell me what you think.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Love,  
Baz**


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